Praise God who poured out his abundant blessings upon this summer Bible conference. I would like to share what God has done through the 2012 Oceania Summer Bible Conference (OSBC). The main theme of this conference was ‘You are the Christ.’ We wanted all the attendants to meet Jesus personally, confessing him as the Christ, as their Lord and Savior.
There were 57 attendants: 20 from Melbourne, 20 from Macquarie, 9 from Sydney, 5 from Canberra, 1 from New Zealand and 3 guests (Stephen Ahn, John Bach Lee, Noah Kim) from Korea.
First, messages and life-testimonies. Missionary Andrew Kim (Macquarie), John Jun (Macquarie) and Joseph Yang (Melbourne) delivered the three main lectures. Except for Missionary Joseph Yang, it was the first time these junior missionaries had taken the responsibility for serving, preparing and delivering messages. Missionary Andrew Kim practiced repeatedly with his patient wife, missionary Maria, as the audience. His hard work and diligence in serving the conference allowed him to show all the attendants his potential as a messenger of God. Young disciples Paul Lee (Sydney centre), Andrew Yoo (Sydney centre) and Cheong (Canberra center) also took up the responsibilities in serving the opening lecture and the morning devotionals respectively.
There were 6 life testimonies in all, delivered by Caitlyn Perry (Melbourne), Jimmy Kim (Sydney), Esther Sim Jr (Melbourne), Pauline Cho (Melbourne), Amy Lu (Macquarie) and Matthew Mo (Macquarie). After their testimonies, several young attendants confessed that they were very moved, and their desire for Bible study and life in Jesus grew through the personal confessions of the testimony sharers. I was also personally very proud to see the growth and development of the younger generation into disciples and leaders, their faith shown through their experiences in their testimonies. I also realized that the testimonies of our young disciples and 2nd gens are the ones that most appeal to our sheep and Bible students; their struggles in this world, in Jesus, in their lives of faith strike a chord with the younger generation as perhaps they reflect their own personal struggles
I thank God who has raised such faithful and devoted messengers and life-testimony speakers. I pray that God may lead them step by step until they become spiritual leaders for Bible Australia.
Second, growing disciples and 2nd gens. In spite of uncertainty surrounding their eligibility as group Bible study leaders, testimony speakers and messengers, our growing disciples and 2nd gens took center-stage in this conference. They served with a sense of ownership for the ministry, and their hard work and efforts were evident in the abundant blessings God poured upon this conference. Even our JBF members actively participated in the music programs and many also actively invited their friends. We pray that God may raise them as future leaders and disciples in the Australian UBF ministry.
Third, the baptism ceremony.
Up until now, baptisms have been carried out by individual chapters. It was the first time a baptism was held at a united conference with all chapters represented. The 2nd gens Paul Lee, Anna Lee and Esther Sim, junior missionary Pauline Cho, Bible students Amy Lu and Matthew Mo all made a confession of faith and accepted Jesus as their Christ personally. Reverend Stephen Ahn baptized them and blessed their new lives in Christ. Along with the baptism ceremony, we also had a special program of shepherd declaration by Shepherds Andrew Yoo, Paul Lee and Jimmy Kim, who publicly committed their lives for the UBF campus ministry.
Fourth, the new Oceania coordinator, Aquila Lee (Sydney)
Missionary Aquila Lee was chosen as the new coordinator for Oceania UBF. Missionary Mark Lee strongly recommended him and the chapter directors were pleased to accept him as a new coordinator. We pray that we may maintain unity in Christ, and fight the good fight of faith to advance God’s kingdom across Oceania campuses.
